Health Minister Gaétan Barrette disputed comments by nurses on Monday that the number of medical incidents and accidents has tripled in the birthing centre at Ste-Justine Hospital as a result of budget cuts, and he blamed the unions for unnecessarily alarming the public.

However, Barrette acknowledged that the province’s largest pediatric hospital must manage a “tight budget,” as is the case for every other institution in the public health network.

“In no way are there more accidents at Ste-Justine Hospital,” Barrette told reporters in response to a report by Radio-Canada that highlighted several medical mishaps in recent months, including administering to the wrong patient a medication to decrease blood pressure and erroneously labelling blood samples for transfusion.

The report attributed the increase in medical errors to overworked nurses who often take care of three patients each per shift rather than the norm of two.

Just last week, the president of Ste-Justine’s council of physicians, dentists and pharmacists, Valérie Lamarre, decried the hospital’s “shameful” budget cuts in an open letter sent to the news media, warning that there would be “potentially grave consequences … for our patients.”

Barrette, however, countered that the number of medical incidents and errors is “minor,” and reflect a decision by the hospital administration requiring doctors and nurses to log every problem that arises in preparation for the opening of Ste-Justine’s new birthing centre.

“I want to reassure the population that Ste-Justine is a world-class hospital where care is provided in a safe manner,” he said before a tour of the new facilities.

Barrette added, “it’s unfortunate that unions — because it’s a union thing again — go out and alarm the public about the level of care in their hospital. The level of care provided in this hospital is unmatched elsewhere in Canada and North America.”

However, the opposition Parti Québécois urged the province’s ombudsman to launch an investigation into the “extremely troubling allegations.”

“What the nurses today are denouncing is a lack of resources that not only prevents them from responding to the needs of patients, but would also place in danger the lives of newborns and their mothers,” said Diane Lamarre, the PQ’s health critic.

Lamarre also accused Barrette of minimizing the situation at the Côte-Ste-Catherine Rd. hospital and “stigmatizing the staff in the field.”

Meanwhile, three unions representing more than 4,600 workers at Ste-Justine released a joint statement Monday denouncing $35 million in budget cuts at the Côte-des-Neiges hospital in the past five years.

“Behind this beautiful new building … are hidden cuts of unprecedented ferocity,” the unions declared in their statement, urging the minister to reinvest in staff and health care.

Although the chief of obstetrics-gynecology at Ste-Justine, Louise Duperron, has confirmed an increase in medical incidents arising from budget cuts, Barrette said he was unaware of her comments.

Nonetheless, Barrette insisted “it’s normal for the administration to ask of the staff that they put their shoulders to the wheel so that the transition (t0 the new birthing centre) could be done correctly. I think it’s a brilliant idea.”

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